Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Receives $193.77 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $193.62.

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.2 %

MPC opened at $182.55 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $104.32 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $194.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $64.32 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.55.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 19.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.